Wrestling

Buffalo Falls to #15 Kent State

Feb 06, 2011

BUFFALO, NY - The Buffalo men's wrestling team had another fast start Sunday afternoon against Kent State, but a controversial loss and other close losses led to a 19-13 defeat at the hands of the fifteenth-ranked Golden Flashes.

Chris Conti got the team rolling with an upset win in the 141-pound match, controlling Chase Skonieczny throughout and using a late reversal to seal a 5-2 win to lead off the match. The win was Conti's fourth dual meet win of the season despite being an injury replacement.

In the next match, Desi Green scored an early takedown and held his opponent at bay for a 4-2 win. It was Green's 40th career win in dual meets, moving him in to the top five in program history. The win also moves the Henrietta, NY native's career Mid American Conference record to 8-1.

Mark Lewandowski moved the Buffalo lead to 9-0 after winning his match 6-5. Lewandowski lost his lead late but used his minute of riding time to decide his matchup. The Depew, NY native is now just one of two Buffalo wrestlers to have nine wins in dual meets, the other being Green.

After dropping the next two matches, Jimmy Hamel was caught in a stalemate with Kent State's Casey Newburg. With the match moving in to overtime with a 1-1 score, Hamel was penalized one point for fleeing the mat, giving Newburg the controversial decision just seconds into the first extra period. The loss evened up the score at 9-9.

The Golden Flashes won a major decision at 197 pounds, Brett Correll lost in overtime to thirteenth-ranked Brendan Barlow and Sean Walton lost to tenth-ranked Nic Bedelyon, putting the score at 19-9 in favor of Kent State going in to the final match.

Junior Kevin Smith ended the meet with a dominating performance over Tyler Small, a wrestler who had previously beaten Smith this season. The Mexico, NY native had three takedowns en route to a 12-1 major decision, putting the final score at 19-13.

The team will have little time to rest, however, as it will welcome in Eastern Michigan Wednesday night. The dual will be broadcast on Time Warner Sports. Buffalo sits at 7-7 overall and 0-2 in the MAC. Match time is set for 7 pm.